Utilities 101: How to Read Your Avista Gas Bill (2022)
Posted on October 5, 2022 by Charlotte Shuff
Tags, Oregon Utilities 101, Energy
For many customers, understanding what goes into your monthly energy bill can be confusing. In this blog series, we will discuss how to understand your energy bill. This guide is for customers of Avista.
Not an Avista customer? Check out our bill guides for NW Natural, Cascade Natural Gas, Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, and Idaho Power customers.
How to View Your Avista Bill
Many Avista customers receive physical bills in the mail. If you are one of these, viewing your bill is as easy as opening an envelope.
If you receive your bill electronically, you can access your bill by logging into your Avista account online at www.myavista.com. Even if you receive your bill in the mail, you will also be able to view it online.
Anatomy of an Avista Gas Bill
Page 1: Bill at a Glance
The Bill at a Glance section of your bill shows the charges from last month and new charges. Many customers may just want to know how much their bill is for the month.
This section shows your previous balance due from your last bill, along with any payments you made on that bill. Those payments will show up as credits (CR). The new charges are what you owe on your current bill. The total amount due this month is a combination of anything remaining from previous bills along with the new charges. You can find the total amount due and due date on the top right corner of the bill, as well.
Page 2: Natural Gas Details
The Natural Gas Details section shows you how you are being charged and what you are being charged for. You can find out how much gas your home used during the billing period and how that compares to previous months in the graph below. This is also the page where you can see the breakdown of the charges for your total bill.
The first section shows you how much energy you have used in the past month. In this section, you can see your meter number. Your meter is the device that tracks the amount of gas you use at home. Avista looks at your meter each month, either remotely or in person, and tracks the meter reading numbers to determine how much gas to bill you for. The chart below shows a detailed breakdown of your meter reading from this month.
In your Energy Usage, the amount of gas you used is measured in Therms. A therm is a unit of measurement for heat energy. Your energy usage is found by subtracting the previous meter reading from the current meter reading and multiplying the difference by the Meter Multiplier (Meter Mult.). A typical Avista customer household uses about 48 therms per month, though amounts vary between households.
The rate schedule determines how much you are billed based on that meter reading and differs between types of customers (residential, commercial, etc.)
This section shows the charges for this billing period only. If you have any outstanding charges, those will not be broken down in this section. You can find any outstanding charges in the top left section of your bill. Current charges include:
- Basic Service Charge: Same amount each month ($10.00 for most residential customers), covers administrative costs like customer service and billing, and fixed costs like the cost of the meter.
- Energy Usage: This charge covers the cost of delivering gas to you, as well as Avista’s cost of delivering it to you. The charge is the amount of gas you used (in Therms) multiplied by the customer rate ($0.98 at the time of this writing).
- Franchise Fee: Local governments charge an additional tax or fee, like the 2% in the example above. These additional charges vary depending on where you live.
The total charges are what is owed on the current bill, not including any outstanding charges from past months. The due date for this bill and the total amount due is found on the top right corner of the bill.
You can also view how much energy your home has used over the past year broken down by month in the Your Monthly Energy Usage graph. The energy usage is also measured in therms, as it is in your bill breakdown. It’s normal to see higher energy use in the winter months during the heating season.
Still have questions about understanding your bill? Call Avista’s customer service at 1-800-227-9187. Or contact CUB at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 503-227-1984 ext. 1.
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10/05/22 | 0 Comments | Utilities 101: How to Read Your Avista Gas Bill (2022)